Four more Exeter Hospital patients have hep C: Total of 31 cases now

EXETER — The number of people who were infected with hepatitis C while being treated at Exeter Hospital now stands at 30.

State health officials announced Thursday that four additional patients have tested positive for the liver disease, joining 26 others who were previously diagnosed.

One hospital employee is also carrying the virus, bringing the total number of related cases to 31.

The tally has increased steadily since the end of May, when Exeter Hospital administrators held a news conference to announce the discovery of the first four cases.

Since then, the state has launched a large-scale lab testing program to screen more than 1,000 former Exeter Hospital patients who were potentially exposed to the virus.

The Department of Health and Human Services has asked all patients treated in Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) and adjacent recovery room between Oct. 1, 2010 and May 25, 2012, to get tested for hepatitis C. The only known connection between the virus carriers is that they had contact with those areas of the hospital.

In June, state health officials announced they suspect the outbreak was caused by a hospital employee who stole and injected hospital drugs, then infected patients with contaminated needles or syringes.

Both the New Hampshire attorney general and the U.S. Attorney's Office have announced they are investigating the situation at the hospital to determine whether a criminal act occurred.

The state is now trying to reach approximately 50 patients who still need to have their blood drawn for testing, according to information provided by the DHHS.

"These results do not require us to change the timeline for testing from the Oct. 1, 2010 date we have been using for several weeks," Dr. Josť Montero, director of public health, said in a statement Thursday, "but the testing is continuing and will until we feel sure that we have not missed any possible exposures of patients related to this outbreak."

In an update Thursday, Exeter Hospital officials said they have now completed blood draws for more than 1,000 of the identified patients, and approximately 45 still need to have samples taken.

"Our staff continues to actively reach out to these identified patients and is doing everything they can to contact them and schedule an appointment as quickly as possible," read a statement from the hospital.

Patients who are still being sought for testing are asked to schedule an appointment by contacting Exeter Hospital's Information and Referral Center at 580-6124.

If patients prefer, additional testing sites have been set up at Hampton and Portsmouth.

For questions and information about hepatitis C, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis, the DHHS website at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/ or call the DPHS Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at 603-271-4496.